Cuddles
by RobertDowneyJrLove
Summary: Tony and Pepper discuss a very important matter. Was she cuddling with him or feeling him up? Major fluff-stuff here, people. I'm talking fluffier than a bag of those giant marshmallows.
1. Cuddles

Tony Stark was her teddy-bear.

It was wrong to liken him to a child's stuffed play-thing but there was simply no other phrase that would suffice to describe how she felt about him. Especially in the morning. He was usually laying on his back, which presented her with the perfect opportunity to tuck her body against his side, rest her head on his stomach and gently slide her hand up under the soft cotton of his t-shirt. His skin was so warm and inviting that she just couldn't help herself. His abdomen was rippled and toned to a tanned perfection that felt good under her soft hands. His chest was chiseled and his pectoral muscles made themselves apparent when his shoulders were pulled back or when he was relaxed, as he was now. It was wrong she knew, but he was just so inviting that she just couldn't seem to help herself. She watched his eyes twitch, obviously dreaming and when she scraped her fingernails along his abs lightly, a sharp breath was sucked in and the muscles flinched slightly under her touch.

Dark lashes formed crescents against his cheekbones, fluttering slightly as he peeled his eyes open to look down at her. His eyes were still slightly red from sleep and a soft, dark chocolate brown in color. His hand found her back; the warmth of his palm seeping through her t-shirt as he gently rubbed her back. She lightly scratched along his abdomen and up to his chest, pressing her palm into the miniature arc-reactor, the light blue glow reminding her that he was still very much alive.

"Would you like me to just take my shirt off?" His sleep-softened voice rumbled in his chest, vibrating against her cheek.

She giggled as she rolled over onto her stomach and rested her chin on his chest, looking up at him with sleepy blue eyes. Her arms were folded beneath her, tucked against his ribs, finished with their exploration of his warm and inviting body - for the time being. He cast his eyes downward to meet her eyes. She just shrugged and tilted her head, smiling innocently as if she hadn't just felt him up while he was sleeping peacefully. The hysterical sound of his slightly high-pitched laughter as his face scrunched and he turned his head away in amusement, carried out into the still air of the bedroom.

"Darling, if I wanted your shirt off, I would have done it myself." Pepper retorted, stretching her arm across his body and pulling herself up so that she was resting on top of him. He wrapped his arms around her as if having her on top of him was an everyday occurrence - and considering how they act with each other, it probably is. She settled her hands on either side of his head and smiled down at him. "Well hello, Mister Stark."

"Hello Missus Stark." Tony's giddy smile matched her own as he buried one hand in her hair and pulled her down for a kiss. "You were feeling me up."

"I was not feeling you up." Pepper insisted against his mouth.

"Yes, you were."

"No. I was not." Pepper smiled, sliding her tongue against his bottom lip. "Not feeling you up."

"Then what do you call it?" He pulled away out of pure curiosity, wondering what she called her previous actions of running her hands under his shirt, along his stomach and chest. He was certain that, that qualified as being felt up but apparently Pepper did not see it the way he did - she so rarely did so he's not really all that surprised but he's definitely curious.

"I was..." She paused as if thinking of the right word and shrugged. "Cuddling."

He laughed; a gutteral sound that vibrated against her entire body. He leaned his head up, resting his forehead against hers. "Cuddling? Is that what you call that?"

She nodded as if not seeing what was so funny about it. "Yes."

"That's not cuddling, Sweetheart." He laughed softly, kissing the bridge of her nose. "That is feeling me up."

Without warning, he flipped them over and dug his fingertips into her ribs. A shriek of laughter and roll of her hips only made him tickle her more. He laughed affectionately, his eyes dancing with laughter as he watched her writhe around on the bed, hoping to escape him as she shrieked with joyful laughter. It was very rare that they had a morning that was not filled with laughter and if they did, there was usually a good reason. Laughter was a part of their lives and so was bickering.

"Cuddling!" She managed to shriek in between tickles and desperate gasps for air.

"Feeling me up!" He laughed as he stopped tickling her and rolled off of her. It was a few minutes of desperate gasps for air and hysterical laughter before she finally managed to look over at him. A hot blush spread from her cheeks down to her chest. "What?"

"Cuddling."

He laughed and rolled on top of her, his grin predatory as he leaned down to kiss her again. He reached for the hem of her shirt and as he pulled it over her head, his eyes gleamed with a wicked mischief. She recognized that look. He was about to get the upper hand.

"Feeling me up." And with a cocky smirk, his lips descended on her neck and their previous debate was forgotten about.

xxx

"Tony," Her warm breath tickled his ear and her mouth sucked hotly on that perfectly sensitive place just behind his earlobe. He was sleeping peacefully but they had some unfinished business to attend too and she was going to make sure that they finished it. And that she won the debate. "Oh Tony, wake up, sleepyhead!"

His eyes fluttered open and when he tried to move his hands, he found that Pepper had them pinned above his head in a vice-like grip. Her weight rested on his stomach and while normally that wouldn't have been a problem - the man had stamina - he found himself eager to resume their previous activities and also completely helpless. But alas, she had him just where she wanted him, completely at her mercy. She sucked and licked on that part of his ear that she knew drove him crazy until he was fully awake and emitting a high-pitched noise akin to a squeal.

"Tony," Pepper bit down on his earlobe as if to emphasize her point of getting his attention. "Listen to me and listen to me very carefully. I did not feel you up."

"Yes, you did."

She bit down on his earlobe again, whispered _"cuddling" _in his ear and quickly climbed off of him. He lifted his head and watched as she started for the door, blowing him a kiss over her shoulder. With that, she ran out of the bedroom door giggling and squealing over her victory. He fell back on the bed laughing as he listened to her giggle and squeal, unable to remember when she'd ever been this happy over something as silly as what she may or may not have been doing to him earlier. Tony crawled out of bed and ran after her, determined to claim victory as his, unable to resist the temptation of Pepper running around his mansion in nothing but his shirt.

"Pepper!"


	2. Food Fight

"Pepper!"

Uproarious laughter exploded in the air, echoing in the still openness of the large kitchen as Tony Stark seized his wife by her waist, locking his arms around her tiny frame. Red cheeks, tangled hair and loud laughter bursting from both of them painted a blurry picture as he spun them around before setting her back down the ground. It didn't take Pepper long to make her escape to the other side of the large kitchen island and open the sub-zero fridge to rummage around for something. He suspected she was looking for something she could either spray at or pour on him but he wanted to make sure before he armed himself with proper ammunition.

When she turned from the fridge, trying in vain to hide the can of whipped cream at her side, her innocent smile couldn't hide the mischief that sparkled in her beautiful baby blues. Tony's eyes widened almost comically when his eyes flickered from the seemingly innocent expression on her face to the can of whipped cream in her hand. With his suspicions confirmed, he looked around desperately for some sort of shield against the stream of cold cream she was about to unleash on him.

"Pepper," He resorted to another tactic - talking her down. "Pepper, don't spray me with the whipped cream. Please! Please don't - "

Pepper just laughed as she pointed the can in his direction and pressed the nozzle, sending a long ribbon of cold cream directly into his chest. He gasped, nearly jumping out of his own skin when the shock of cold hit his chest. With a playful glare, he ran around the kitchen island, intent on arming himself with something to use as ammunition. He barely had time to open the fridge and grab a bottle of something, anything really, before a pile of whipped cream was sprayed directly on top of his head.

"You look cute," Pepper giggled, dipping her head and covering her mouth with her hand. "Really cute!"

Without a word - mostly because at this point, he had none - he backed her up to the counter, trapping her against it with his body. His eyes were dark and smoldering and he had his head tilted in that certain way that usually meant he wanted to kiss her. He leaned down closer and he did kiss her. He did, indeed and it was wonderful. When he pulled away laughing, she knew something was up. She looked up at him confused until he held his hand above her head and a few seconds later something cold, wet and thick dropped onto her head.

"Tony!"

"What?" Tony shrugged innocently, trying not to laugh hysterically at the sight of his wife doused in chocolate syrup. "You look...sweet!"

"Shut up, Tony!"

"Ouch!" Tony gasped, false hurt coating his voice. He rested one hand on his heart for dramatic flair. "That hurt!"

"I think your ego will recover," Pepper rolled her eyes, making her way over to the fridge to look for something else to pour on him. "It's certainly large enough."

Tony shrugged, having no choice but to concede her point - he could fill up the entire state of California with his ego. His chocolate eyes couldn't help but rove over her back side, thoroughly enjoying the view. She looked sexy in his t-shirt, despite the thick streaks of chocolate in her hair and the smears on her body. He had to wonder what she was looking for, considering she had been digging for a few minutes now. When she turned around, he got his answer.

A carefe filled to the brim with syrup.

"Oh no. Not the syrup." Tony shook his head vehemently, looking for some way to distract her. The only way he could think to distract her proved to be flawed. If he kissed her like he desparately wanted to do, it would distract him and give her the opportunity to pour the syrup on his head. Before she can lift her arm, he's dashing to the fridge, grabbing a bottle of some sort of condiment. He only briefly checked the label to ensure he wouldn't hurt her by pouring hot sauce or some other caustic condiment on her. He turned to find her standing only inches away from him, arm poised, ready to douse him in sticky syrup and the smell of maple.

"Tony?"

"Yes, dear?" He held the bottle of what he thought was barbecue sauce in one hand, interlocking his hands neatly at his front.

"What is that you have there?" Pepper backed off a little, lowering the container of syrup away from what he considered the danger zone, even though he can still see the mischief in her eyes.

Tony swallowed hard, holding up the bottle meekly for her to see what he had grabbed out of the refrigerator door. "Um, barbecue sauce?"

"Barbecue sauce?" She was calm - too calm, really. He was now officially on high alert. "And what were you going to do with that barbecue sauce?"

"Nothing?" Tony's expression was meek and fearful, afraid of what was to come. He knew all too well what would happen if he incurred her wrath. His back was never the same after that particular incident.

"Really?"

"Um, yeah?" Tony shied away from her, obviously uncomfortable.

Pepper's mouth twitched with laughter but she held back. It was always fun to make her husband uncomfortable, especially since it was so hard to do unless you knew what buttons to push. She intended to milk this for everything it was worth and considering how mercilessly he had tickled her in their bedroom, she was going to make it worth a lot. She moved a little closer to him, draping an arm around his neck and pulling his body against hers. She made sure the syrup was far enough away from his body that Tony felt it safe enough to kiss her but close enough that it would only take her a second to dump it on his head.

"I'm sorry, darling. I can see I'm making you uncomfortable." Pepper nuzzled into his neck, kissing and sucking on that one sensitive spot that she knew drove him crazy. "Forgive me?"

At this point, Tony was practically putty in her hands and just as she thought he might, he nodded. While she wanted to smile triumphantly, she couldn't just yet. She had to wait. She nuzzled closer to his face, just brushing her lips against his. He closed the distance and for a second there, her plot was almost forgotten about but that changed quickly when she felt the cold glass bottle of barbecue sauce press into her back. She quickly deepened the kiss and once she was sure she had lulled him into that completely false sense of security, she made her move. In one fluid move she had pulled away and dumped the entire carafe of syrup on his head. He gasped loudly and quickly reached to wipe the syrup away from his eyes.

Tony, however, was just as clever. He tightened his grip on her waist and held the barbecue sauce bottle over her head. She squeezed her eyes shut, preparing for the downpour of sauce. To her surprise, he only laughed and lowered the bottle, setting it on the counter behind him.

"We'll call it even. I did tickle you earlier so I kind of deserved the whipped cream." Tony shrugged, pulling her closer. "I poured chocolate syrup on you so you every right to get revenge. Despite me being stickier, I think I get the better end of this food fight."

"Why do you say that?" Pepper looked at him confused, draping her arms around his neck again, despite the stickiness of the cold breakfast condiment.

He leaned down and licked a little bit of chocolate from her neck before meeting her eyes again and grinning wickedly. "My wife is covered in chocolate. Thanks to me. I think this might be my greatest invention ever."

Pepper just laughed as she pulled away and tugged on his t-shirt, "C'mon, genius, let's go take a shower."

Tony nodded and trudged after his wife, both of them sticky and exhausted. As they traipsed up the spiral staircase toward the shower, the gears in Tony's mind turned and a thought occurred to him. While the tickling and the chase and the food fight had been wonderful, they had never actually settled their debate from earlier that morning. Pepper said she had been cuddling with him but he insisted that she been feeling him up.

"Sweetheart," He broached the subject cautiously. "Will you finally admit that you were feeling me up?"

"Only if you'll join me in the shower?" Pepper smiled at flirtatiously, jogging up the stairs ahead of him.

"You don't have to ask me twice!"

Pepper giggled as Tony chased her up the stairs and into the bathroom, happy to join his wife in the shower. And as they washed the syrup - maple and chocolate - from each other's hair along with Tony's half-melted whipped cream hat, they couldn't help but smile at how wonderful their morning had been so far. Yes, they had a mess to clean up in the kitchen and yes, Pepper would probably still be cleaning up their mess in a month, but they had made some hilarious memories and would have quite a story to tell later on.

Even if she never admitted what she was really doing to Tony.

* * *

T**o PhoenixFeather0198, I know this isn't the sequel we talked about but this kind of emerged as second chapter for this story so I hope you like it. I probably will end up writing a sequel to this like we talked about, mostly because I already started it and I'm trying not to leave things incomplete so definitely look for that soon. Until that, there is this. **


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